The news that Michael Boyd is to stand down as artistic director of the Royal
Shakespeare Company next year comes as a surprise but perhaps he feels he
has done his job.

When he took over from Adrian Noble almost ten years ago many were seriously wondering whether the RSC had a future at all.

Noble had recklessly moved out of the Barbican Centre with no firm plans for an alternative London base. And his plans to pull down the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford had received a hostile reaction from many. The company seemed tired and demoralised and production standards were wildly uneven.

At first Boyd was a steady hand on the tiller, but gradually he restored the company to former glories. A hugely ambitious international festival of the complete works of Shakespeare caught the public imagination while Boyd’s own production of a complete cycle of the history plays, with a long term ensemble and especially memorable performances from Jonathan Slinger as Richard II and Richard III, proved a sensation both in Stratford and in London. And he also led the company to a hit season in New York this summer.

But perhaps Boyd’s biggest achievement was keeping the company together and productive while the Royal Shakespeare Theatre was brilliantly redeveloped, retaining the shell of the old 1930s auditorium while creating a completely new thrust stage auditorium within it. It is one of the most stunning theatre makeovers in living memory. He was greatly helped in this task by Vikki Heywood, executive director of the RSC, who is also leaving.

Boyd will remain to oversee the World Shakespeare Festival celebrations in Stratford next year. His most likely successor is Gregory Doran who has long been his unofficial right hand man but the hot director Rupert Goold might also be a contender and also Matthew Warchus who directed the company’s smash hit musical Matilda which is transferring soon to the West End. It might also be time to have a woman running the company. Strong contenders could include Marianne Elliott and Lucy Bailey.

Related Articles

A priority for whoever takes over will be to find a London venue so that the RSC can have a permanent presence in the capital. The company also needs to up its game with new plays having hit gold with Matilda.